clarity on the how long to you let LO eat

[babyjiva]

…. I wanted to ask the same question but I see it was already asked so I'm just trying to make sure I understand some of the answers.

so if you let LO sit for 45 minutes at a time, is this for all snacks and meals? that would be around 4 hours in the high chair a day. I don't mind that my toddler eats slowly but honestly it makes me want to skip a snack or something because sometimes I feel like she's spent most the day in her chair between napping, bath etc?

what am I missing. anyone else feel like this?

 

[amygwen]

Usually he sits in his high chair for all meals, sometimes I will let him sit with me on the couch to eat toast or something like that, that won't get everywhere. Most meals are like 15 minutes in the high chair, breakfast is sometimes longer since he just woke up. Snacks can be around 15 minutes too, depending on how interested he is.

Usually it's:

Breakfast @ 8AM: 20-30 minutes
Snack @10AM: 10-15 minutes (sometimes shorter sometimes longer)
Lunch @ 12PM: 15 minutes
Snack @ 3PM: 10-15 minutes (sometimes shorter sometimes longer)
Dinner @ 6PM: 15-20 minutes

 

[QTPie]

DS only generally eats meals and "messy" snacks (ie peanut butter on wholemeal toast) in the highchair. Biscuits/fruit is generally not in the chair.

Breakfast is normally a fast meal (10/15/20 minutes), lunch (something like sandwich and fruit) is about 30 minutes, dinner (something cooked and fruit) is 30/45 minutes. So maybe 1hr 15min or so a day in the highchair? Sounds reasonable: as an adult, I would expect us to spend at least that much time sitting and eating. It is also not bad for them to have a break from running around

 

[bungle]

As above I only tend to do main meals in the highchair. Snacks are often given while she's sat on the sofa or the floor and she just carries on playing - obviously depends what it is but we've got wooden floors and leather sofas so I don't have to worry about mess too much!

 

[Gingerspice]

We tend to do dry snacks for this reason. We often use those yoghurt coated fruit flakes in a little pot and LO knows she hs to sit down to have snacks. They get taken away if she walks around. She normally sits on a banbag.

For meals its as long as its takes. Breakfast us usually quick, maybe 20 minutes, but that does depend if shes at home with e or off to nursery where she'll eat breakfast again anyway.
Lunch is until she asks to get down, so its rare she'ssittng for more than 45 monutes maximum for either lunch or tea. Having said that we were istting in the restaurant fr nearly 2 hours for lunch the other day, but she was then allowed to oclour etc too (which she isn't allowed to do at mealtimes normally at home as only to eat)

 

[Blah11]

I think we're the only culture that doesn't take a long time for meals. I know Italians, greek cypriot, pretty much all arab cultures etc all take lonnnng lunches. Shops close for like 3 hours in the afternoon for lunch lol

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

It varies, Ruby only goes in her highchair for cooked meals but she has to sit at her little table or the sofa for other meals, not wandering around. However long it takes really.

 

[hellohefalump]

Mojo eats three meals in his highchair, I give him as long as it takes to eat his food but if he's just playing with it then I take it away cos he's not hungry.

Snacks I just let him walk around eating them unless it's something really messy like cake, then he sits in his high chair.

 

[babyjiva]

ah i see. thanks for helping me. I guess with LO being just 1 and not so great at eating, I don't like her to run around with her food which I can only avoid when she's in her high chair. Also, she doesn't eat a lot of grain snacks because of an allergy, so most things I give her are messy. I will try harder to give her snacks out of the chair, I think that will help. She takes 45 minutes for meals and 30 for snacks!

 

[AlwaysPraying]

Even with messy snacks, I usually just follow bubs around the living room while he's playing. I'll scoop food in his mouth as he's going along his way. I'm with you, too much time in the high chair drives me crazy! As for meals, he takes 30-45 mins, breakfast is shorter though I guess.